Monday, November 7, 2011

Warm, Soft, Chestnut Pudding

I may be a water sign but when autumn comes, I am from the earth. I remember bags of roasted chestnuts bought for me on city streets in New York as a girl. My feet were decidedly marching on cement and asphalt but as I munched on the now soft, pliable chestnuts, the earth's crust was never far from me. I still look at piles of fallen leaves longingly. Do not think raking has any allure! I simply want to jump in and feel its warmth and crispness. And while I have become far too sensible to bury myself in the remnants of summer past, I will sit and kneel in blankets of leaves and hope that a rodent doesn't peek out at me!

Warm, soft chestnut pudding will do this to you. It's a romp in a pile of leaves. A hug from the earth. This recipe is from The Rose Pistola Cookbook- a restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Settled by immigrants from Liguria hoping to strike it big in the California Gold Rush, the recipes in this book combine the bounty of the Italian Riviera with the goodness from the Pacific Ocean. The cookbook reads like fiction and nourishes you to the end. Combining tales of the people who populated the neighborhood as well as the history of the dishes, the book gives a warm embrace to North Beach. And there's none of the "American-red-sauce" mania that swept Italian-American cooking (not that there's anything wrong with that - I was raised on red sauce!).

Scald the milk (bring milk almost to a boil and then reduce to simmer) in a heavy, large saucepan.

Whisk in the chestnut flour - in a steady stream. Bring to a simmer whisking constantly until thickened. (Mine took about 5 minutes.) Remove from heat and let cool - just slightly.

Add 3 tablespoons of the butter. the honey, salt and eggs and whisk until smooth. (I will confess I had a few lump - it didn't hurt).

Butter a 12x8-1/2 gratin dish. Pour in the batter and bake for one hour until the top has caramelized and the pudding is set. Remove from oven and serve at once adding whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

It looks a wee bit like pate - all that dense, crumbling brown! Interesting that things that smell of the earth - look like the earth! Aromatic - it announces autumn. Soft and pliable but hints of caramelized honey for surprise. It's a dessert planted firmly in the earth.

But I will have it on my Thanksgiving table. Next time, I will use a pat less butter (it just didn't need it all) and a smaller gratin dish (which will up the cooking time) to have thicker slabs of it. And you can make it ahead of time. It's delicious cold the next day or simply rewarm before serving.

39 comments:

This sounds absolutely awesome... I dont remember them selling these in bags in upstate ny but in big barrels in old Italian speciality stores, we would buy fava beans, chestnuts, so much fun back then boy the memories. I just love this recipe and everything about this.. wonderful post Claudia!

I so needed this recipe to appear in front of me today, and you obliged! I will be forever in your debt...I am making a chestnut tart tomorrow and I see so many recipes calling for TONS of sugar -- I love that yours is not quite so sweet, and that it uses honey. Claudia, you're a star! Theresa

I've never heard of chestnut flour before but that pudding sounds amazing. Eating roasted chestnuts as a family on Christmas has been a tradition since I was a little girl so I hold that nut near and dear to my heart. I guess I need to find chestnut flour.

Dear Claudia, Chestnuts are part of a holiday when I was growing up. My mom and dad used the make the cross on top of the chestnut and roast them. They were served after dinner as part of the nuts and fruit that came before the pastries, cakes and other goodies. I never heard of this pudding. It sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Blessings, Catherine xo

Thanks for the tip on where to find chestnut flour...as I'd love to try this delicious looking dessert! What fun memories you shared of eating roasted chestnuts...I think that needs to be added to my bucket list :)

Claudia,We adore chestnuts in our house and I love using chestnut flour in pancakes and cakes but never seen this before. This pudding looks scrumptious - and you have saved me just in time: my Corsican beaux-parents are arriving tomorrow so this is a must for the table!

The other day, Hubby looked at me oddly when I mentioned that one of the things I missed about letting go our home was amongst other things...raking the leaves and rolling in their crisp. He certainly doesn't miss the labour!

Chestnut flour is an ingredient I plan to experiment on, especially since I bake a lot of gluten free desserts. This one sounds like an interestring way to begin. Thanks for the heads up on the butter ;o)

Chestnut flour is new to me, the pudding looks special! somehow I missed your Farro-Bean Soup from Lucca post, Claudia. The soup is similar to a bean and barley soup I make. Makes me want some savory oatmeal as a side dish too!

This is beautiful, Claudia. I think I've only ever had chestnuts once in my life...but I always dream of having them roasted on an open fire (no joke). And funny you should say it, because I am the exact same way...water sign who feels very rooted in the earth come autumn!

It's sad, but I've never had a chestnut before. I bought a bag of fresh ones today and I was wondering what I should do with them. I don't think I could grind them into flour. But Maybe I could do something similar, this does sound wonderful.-Gina-

I have a feeling that I'm missing out on something great here. I've never had chestnuts, nor have I ever seen them in the market. This pudding looks incredible though and has me thinking that I simply must seek out some chestnuts. I'll have my eyes peeled...